g49 



and beneath this bed of shells there is a quantity of rich dark 

 mould, with some reddish earth which has the appearance of 

 being burned. A few human bones, and some bones of small 

 animals, were found in the earth beneath. 



Outside the circle of stones, and on the very edge of the 

 cliff, near the western angle of the mound, there was found 

 a rudely-formed grave, containing a human skull, with the 

 bones of the arm, leg and thigh, which apparently had never 

 been disturbed ; the bones of the back, ribs, Sec, could not 

 be discovered. 



There are several remains of entrenchments and smaller 

 mounds in the neighbourhood. 



Circles of stones are found enclosing many similar bar- 

 rows in Ireland. At New Grange, near Dowth, in the 

 County of Louth, the circumference of one measured about 

 four hundred paces ; and in a barrow near Drogheda, an 

 engineer officer found a gigantic skeleton, a pair of elks' 

 horns, and a spear, in an upright position: the horns 

 were above the skeleton. There are many barrows in the 

 neighbourhood of Drogheda, which, if opened under the 

 direction of competent persons, would probably lead to 

 many very interesting discoveries. 



The President gave an account of a singular appearance 

 of the clouds, observed on the l6th December, 1838, at the 

 Observatory of Trinity College, Dunsink. They appeared, 

 for at least the last four hours of day light, to be arranged 

 in arches which converged very exactly to the N. E. and 

 S. W. points of the horizon ; while the breaks or joints in 

 these arches were directed, though with less exactness, to 

 two other horizontal points, which seemed to be always op- 

 posite to each other, but ranged from N. W. and S. E. to 

 N. and S. Conjectures were offered with respect to the 

 cause of this appearance. 



